They’re many people’s private fancies for a ­Championship title tilt – but an O’Byrne Cup final place would satisfy Graham Reilly right now.

Aside from the Leinster triumph of 2010, silverware has been thin on the ground for the Royal County. And speedy forward Reilly is bullish about the need to finally take their place at the top table again.

They made a good stab of it last year – the first year with Mick O’Dowd (above) as coach – and they’ve breezed through January so far, with Reilly now eyeing up a final spot.

He said: “DCU are a good side and have a lot of inter-county players. So it’s going to be a tough challenge. And I suppose from a supporters’ point of view, it’s disappointing that it’s not Dublin we’re playing in Navan.

“But for us it’s another game and we want to keep winning games. If we win this, we have a final in another week and it’s all perfect preparation for playing Galway then in the first weekend of the league.

“We really want to keep that momentum going forward this year.”

O’Dowd made some big ­decisions over winter, clearing out a host of older stars like Joe Sheridan and Brian Farrell to make way for youth. It’s so far, so good, with Reilly claiming that every last player is looking over their shoulder.

The former AllStar nominee said: “One of the things Mick wants is a better squad and having impact players who can come off the bench and do a job. In the past couple of years, we didn’t have that. So far this year, in the games we’ve played, lads have been really pushing each other and it’s better for the team. If you’re guaranteed a spot, which nobody is anymore, it’s very easy to get relaxed going into games.”

Opponents DCU travel to Navan on the back of the biting saga that marred their win over Dublin. The Leinster Council are investigating claims a DCU player was bitten by a Dub.

Reilly though was focusing on the job in hand and added: “It’s another game for us and an opportunity to reach a final.”